Tri-Cities fans gear up for NIU in Orange Bowl

December 27, 2012|By Alexa Aguilar, Special to the Tribune

NIU student Lauren Boddy of Lily Lake and mascot Victor E. Huskie hand out oranges during an all-day tour to whip up excitement over NIU's appearance in the Orange Bowl. (Jon Langham, Special to the Tribune)

Pat Green, of Geneva, is reveling in the fact that his beloved Huskies football team will be competing in the marquee Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said.

Green, among a proud contingent of Northern Illinois University alums in the Tri-Cities, hears congratulations when he's out and about in his NIU gear, sees bowl T-shirts on sale at Meijer, and listens to national sports commentators analyze the team.

An NIU football fan since he graduated in 1996, he hopes current students aren't taking for granted the attention and big-time hoopla over this bowl game and opponent Florida State.

"It's just not something we're used to," said Green, 39. "It's always Big Ten, Big Ten, Big Ten, and the midsize state schools are always an afterthought. So this brings out a lot of pride."

Green wanted to spend New Year's Eve with his wife and three young sons — budding NIU fans, of course — so he's flying with three friends and fellow graduates to Florida on game day and driving straight to the stadium to celebrate with other alumni before kickoff. He flies out early the next morning.

"It'll be action-packed," Green said.

Local travel agents say they've fielded calls from alumni seeking cheaper airline tickets, but New Year's in South Florida remains a hot item, they said. Still, for some Tri-Cities families, making the trip was never a question. Five Huskies players are graduates of local high schools, and their families will be on hand.

For Stacey Brown, of Elburn, it's still sinking in that her son, Ryan, a graduate of St. Charles North, who joined the team as a walk-on and now is a starting offensive lineman, will be competing in an Orange Bowl. The family's beloved "fanbulance" — an ambulance revamped into an NIU tailgating tradition — is too old to make the trip, so she and her husband and their daughter are flying to Florida. An older son, Pat, was recently signed by the Miami Dolphins, and will join them there.

"It's just been surreal," Stacey Brown said. "From being a walk-on to being a starter to winning the MAC (championship) to playing in the Orange Bowl … it's just incredible."

Bob Winkel, of Batavia, has decided to make a family vacation out of traveling to Miami to cheer on his son, Bobby, and the other Huskie football players. Eight relatives are making the trip, with the grandparents flying and the rest driving. Some aunts and uncles will likely join them there, he said. They'll enjoy the Orange Bowl, then stay for a few days of Florida sun.

"It's been kind of crazy," Winkel said. "Every time I'm at Jewel or at church, people are saying 'Congrats' and 'I can't believe you guys are going.'"

NIU students, and Victor E. Huskie, the school mascot, did their part to drum up excitement when they traveled to the Loop, then made stops, including Geneva, to hand out thousands of oranges and spirit wear on the way home to DeKalb.

NIU is offering students free tickets and travel packages for $150. The university also offered travel packages for alumni between $769 and $2,049, but they are now sold out.

An unofficial watch party is planned at Buffalo Wild Wings, 820 Commons Drive, Geneva, the night of the game.